Life + Business + Creativityhttp://whitneyenglish.com
with Whitney EnglishFri, 13 Feb 2015 23:37:35 +0000en-UShourly1http://wordpress.org/?v=4.0.130K Giveaway!http://whitneyenglish.com/30k-giveaway/
http://whitneyenglish.com/30k-giveaway/#commentsFri, 13 Feb 2015 23:18:00 +0000http://whitneyenglish.com/?p=4538It’s crazy to see how Instagram has grown this year. I can hardly believe it some days. As a thank you to everyone who’s followed me (THANK YOU!) I wanted to put together a little giveaway. I’m really, genuinely, just grateful. Thank you all so much for your encouragement, and support, and caring! I’m so […]

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It’s crazy to see how Instagram has grown this year. I can hardly believe it some days. As a thank you to everyone who’s followed me (THANK YOU!) I wanted to put together a little giveaway. I’m really, genuinely, just grateful. Thank you all so much for your encouragement, and support, and caring! I’m so grateful for you all!

]]>http://whitneyenglish.com/30k-giveaway/feed/167Four Reasons Why S.M.A.R.T. Goals Aren’t So Smart Anymorehttp://whitneyenglish.com/smart-goals-arent-so-smart-anymore/
http://whitneyenglish.com/smart-goals-arent-so-smart-anymore/#commentsThu, 01 Jan 2015 16:39:13 +0000http://whitneyenglish.com/?p=3806Remember when coffee shops were all the rage? Starbucks hadn’t popped up on every corner yet, so local, Central-Perk-ish type places were everywhere. Around the same time, Barnes & Noble came to my hometown of Oklahoma City, and opened two locations, complete with coffee shops. Since I had just received the keys to my first […]

]]>Remember when coffee shops were all the rage? Starbucks hadn’t popped up on every corner yet, so local, Central-Perk-ish type places were everywhere. Around the same time, Barnes & Noble came to my hometown of Oklahoma City, and opened two locations, complete with coffee shops. Since I had just received the keys to my first car (a lovely circa 1990 GMC Jimmy, white, with a two-tone blue replacement tailgate), and needed a place to hang out, my friends and I would escape to these coffee shops.

Barnes & Noble knew what they were doing. The coffee shop next to the bookstore was a brilliant idea. I’d grab my coffee, and browse the magazines, the hobby section, and the fiction section, but what really lured me in was the self-help section. Because I was on a 16 year-old’s budget, I’d sit on the floor in the aisles and read while I drank my coffee.

Turns out, there was a world of authors out there willing to tell me how to live my life, and I was the sucker they were looking for.

I didn’t read too much of it, since my budget was limited, and I was still mostly into Grace Livingston Hill fiction stuff at that point, but the coffee shop at that Barnes and Noble was where I first met with the idea of S.M.A.R.T. goals.

I didn’t question it, at first. S.M.A.R.T. goals sounded nice, and the gurus surely knew what they were talking about. Millions of people said S.M.A.R.T. goals were the way to go. Whomever came up with this S.M.A.R.T. goals concept was older and wiser than I was. So I leaned in, set some “smart goals”, and then went about my life, thinking I had done the work, so I must be on the right path, and the other pieces would fall into place.

A million people can’t be wrong, right?

Over the next few years, I went to a few high school and college leadership seminars, retreats, workshops. I think we set S.M.A.R.T. goals at every one of them, so I started a Goals Notebook, where I could keep all my goal notes and lists, and I kept going about life.

After I started my first business, we started setting S.M.A.R.T. goals as a team. It was a fun way to get a day off of work, so my team loved it. But as time crept on, I started to realize that we weren’t seeing results. Or, if we were, those results weren’t getting us where we needed to go. Or, we’d end up where we THOUGHT we needed to be, only to realize it wasn’t where we wanted to be.

At the same time, I saw the same things happening with my personal goals as well. I’d set my goals, using the S.M.A.R.T. goals framework, and then they’d sit, collecting dust and being successfully ignored, until I finally realized the smartest thing I could do with them was chunk them in a trash can.

I had to ask myself why they didn’t work.

S.M.A.R.T. goals are arbitrary. At a final point of my frustration, I found myself sitting in a workshop where the leader said, “Now it’s time to write your goals down!” I wanted to throw my pen down in frustration, because I knew there were multiple uncompleted goal lists at home. Adding another random list of “smart” goals to the top of that pile wasn’t going to solve anything.

S.M.A.R.T. goals aren’t balanced. As I looked back at all my “smart” goals, I recognized a common theme: they were all about business. Over the course of my years of setting “smart” goals, not a single goal had anything to do with my personal life, or relationships. My goal list was making my life out-of-balance.

S.M.A.R.T. goals don’t take your strengths and weaknesses into account. I could set a goal to be a nuclear physicist, but the truth is, I don’t have the passion, foundation, or skill set to make that goal happen.

S.M.A.R.T. goals don’t take into account your current life. We all have to-do lists of stuff that needs to get done, already. We don’t need to make a goal list that just adds to our to-dos. We need to look at our to-dos and ask ourselves if those actions are helping us get to where we want to go.

I don’t want to be yet another person telling others how to live their lives, but I had to figure out a better way. I loved goals and I wanted to set goals, but I wanted the goals that I set to not just be achievable: I wanted them to get done, and I wanted them to help me move towards a vision, a bigger picture.

And S.M.A.R.T. goals just didn’t seem to cut it.

I wanted to set goals that encompassed every area of my life, but I didn’t want to over-complicate the areas of my life. Turns out that the gurus talk about life balance a lot as well, so I did a bit of research to see what the basic areas of life needed to be targeted in order to set balanced goals.

I also wanted this to be easy for me to remember. So, for my goals, I started using the acronym of H.E.A.R.T. goals to help me identify and set goals that wouldn’t be arbitrary, would recognized every area of my life.

Now, I make sure to set goals according to these life segments:

H – Help Yourself. In 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey starts with personal accountability (be proactive, you have a choice, take responsibility for that power of choice), and ends with personal growth (sharpen the saw, take care of yourself). It really does start and end with you. Put your own oxygen mask on first. This can include sleep (eight hours a night), exercise (just go for a walk if you don’t see yourself becoming a gym-rat), journaling time (all the giants have done it, including Thomas Jefferson, Benjamin Franklin, Dave Ramsey), quiet time.

E – Everyone Else. I personally believe that there are two things that are eternal in this world: the word of God and the souls of other human beings. Theology aside, people matter above profits, above power, above prestige. People also matter in a certain order, from immediate family on out. People are easy to prioritize. Don’t complicate it.

A – Attitude & Academics. One of the unifying factors of successful people is that they NEVER. Stop. Learning. In fact, it’s practically their pastime and hobby. They’re always reading books, talking with other people about books they’ve read, going to workshops. They are personally aware that they haven’t yet figured it all out, and they are always on the hunt for education and growth. Their spirit is hungry and humble, as I once heard New York Times best-selling author Donald Miller say.

R – Resources. We can’t neglect the finite and important things in life: time, money, and energy. Energy should be managed in the first point, Help Yourself. Time should be carefully managed on a daily basis. But money does require special stewardship, and that’s where the resources segment comes in. At a ropes course one time, the facilitator once counseled our team: if you don’t use your resources, you lose them. Steward finances well.

T – Trade & Business. This is last, and all too often we set out so quickly in this world to make it first. Don’t. It’s last. You, your people, your personal growth, and the management of your resources all come before your work and your business. The only time Trade ever comes before anything else is when you have to put in that extra push of intense energy to get something off the ground. Jon Acuff calls this the 5 a.m. Club, and recommends getting up an hour earlier every day to work on your dream. Yes, you’ll sacrifice sleep to do it, but don’t get accustomed to that habit—sleep is so important, and after your idea is off the ground, you’ll need to return to best practices.

So do I think S.M.A.R.T. goals are bad? No, I just think they’re not enough. All goals still need to be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-sensitive, but setting H.E.A.R.T. goals will keep your life in balance, and make sure your goals are on the right track.

So, what goals are you setting for 2015? Share in the comments, or tag me on Instagram and use #2015heartgoals as a hashtag!

In a few weeks, we’ll open up registration for Well-Designed Year again. We’ve done two private launches, so far, and the response has been great. If you’re interested in learning more, sign up at whitneyenglish.com/well-designed-year for more information!

]]>http://whitneyenglish.com/smart-goals-arent-so-smart-anymore/feed/2New Year, New Giveaway!http://whitneyenglish.com/new-year-new-giveaway/
http://whitneyenglish.com/new-year-new-giveaway/#commentsTue, 30 Dec 2014 04:25:36 +0000http://whitneyenglish.com/?p=37212015 is right around the corner and I have teamed up with some of my favorite bloggers for this fun giveaway that includes the essentials for a great start to the new year! To enter, just follow the instructions below! Blue-Eyed Bride | Lil Luna | Tom Kat Studio | Hi Sugarplum | Jenny […]

]]>2015 is right around the corner and I have teamed up with some of my favorite bloggers for this fun giveaway that includes the essentials for a great start to the new year! To enter, just follow the instructions below!

]]>http://whitneyenglish.com/new-year-new-giveaway/feed/6It’s Never Too Deephttp://whitneyenglish.com/never-deep/
http://whitneyenglish.com/never-deep/#commentsFri, 21 Nov 2014 12:20:14 +0000http://whitneyenglish.com/?p=3439After dropping my kids off at school one morning, a thought occurred to me: you’re never in too deep. If it was too deep, you’d be drowning. And realistically, most of us aren’t literally drowning. We may feel like it, but, let’s face it: we can be pretty good at drama. And since we’re talking […]

]]>After dropping my kids off at school one morning, a thought occurred to me: you’re never in too deep.

If it was too deep, you’d be drowning. And realistically, most of us aren’t literally drowning. We may feel like it, but, let’s face it: we can be pretty good at drama.

And since we’re talking about life, and not actual drowning, let’s call spades, spades. No one is going to drown from email. No one is going to die from a crazy day, saturated with interruptions, and riddled with chaos and disorganization and overcommitment. People die from being stressed, sure, but the odds of you keeling over after shaking your head at your calendar and inbox are pretty slim.

I don’t want to trivialize the circumstances and frustrations that feel so very real, but here’s the truth: there’s always a way out.

]]>http://whitneyenglish.com/never-deep/feed/1Four Paradigm Shifts That Could Change Your Lifehttp://whitneyenglish.com/four-paradigm-shifts-change-life/
http://whitneyenglish.com/four-paradigm-shifts-change-life/#commentsWed, 19 Nov 2014 05:10:39 +0000http://whitneyenglish.com/?p=3427Tomorrow morning, I hop on a plane to head back home after a few amazing, full, and paradigm-shifting days. I’ve been in Nashville for the past few days, attending Jeff Goins’ inaugural session of Tribe Intensive, an amazing marketing workshop, as well as hosting a mastermind-style intensive of my own. Because I’m tired, I’m keeping […]

]]>Tomorrow morning, I hop on a plane to head back home after a few amazing, full, and paradigm-shifting days. I’ve been in Nashville for the past few days, attending Jeff Goins’ inaugural session of Tribe Intensive, an amazing marketing workshop, as well as hosting a mastermind-style intensive of my own. Because I’m tired, I’m keeping the recap short and focused:

People matter. When you treat them like they matter, they blossom. Sometimes the only difference you can make on the world is starting the ripple effect of letting them know they do.

When people hurt you, they still matter. Don’t get your feathers ruffled, don’t get defensive, just keep letting them know they matter. Maybe, eventually they’ll soften.

Try to make a habit of seeing the good in others before they show you the bad. The ugly stuff we do to each other is sometimes just a defensive knee-jerk reaction to an assumption that we’re all out to hurt each other.

Abundance mentality breeds abundance. Surround yourself with people who are willing to give, and keep giving.

It’s all easier said than done, I know. But so worth the effort of trying.

]]>http://whitneyenglish.com/four-paradigm-shifts-change-life/feed/1The Great Fall Giveaway!http://whitneyenglish.com/great-fall-giveaway/
http://whitneyenglish.com/great-fall-giveaway/#respondTue, 07 Oct 2014 00:20:51 +0000http://blog.whitneyenglish.com/?p=3179I’m delighted to be joining some of my favorite blogging friends to offer a Day Designer through this great fall giveaway! To enter, just follow the directions below! The giveaway runs through October 13th! Your hosts for the giveaway are: Whitney English, Shay of Mix and Match Mama, Megan of Honey We’re Home and Heart […]

]]>I’m delighted to be joining some of my favorite blogging friends to offer a Day Designer through this great fall giveaway! To enter, just follow the directions below! The giveaway runs through October 13th!

]]>http://whitneyenglish.com/great-fall-giveaway/feed/0Being Bravehttp://whitneyenglish.com/brave/
http://whitneyenglish.com/brave/#commentsMon, 29 Sep 2014 15:23:55 +0000http://blog.whitneyenglish.com/?p=3174 Seth Godin once said in an interview, “Books are like souvenirs of ideas.” As I sit here, befuddled about what my fingers should talk about next, I look around the room, and sure enough, my eyes don’t land on books. They land on ideas. The current idea floating around in my mind has something […]

Seth Godin once said in an interview, “Books are like souvenirs of ideas.”

As I sit here, befuddled about what my fingers should talk about next, I look around the room, and sure enough, my eyes don’t land on books. They land on ideas.

The current idea floating around in my mind has something to do with courage. Something to do with being brave. Something around this concept that courage, like tennis, requires practice to be good. You can’t come out the gate and explode with a mass of impactful courage, just like you can’t pick up a racquet and be good overnight. No, you have to pick up the racquet every day, and over time, you start to get better at the game.

Or maybe practicing courage is like practicing law, or practicing medicine. They say it’s a practice, because the truth is, as much as they’re supposed to be experts, they don’t really know how the surgery or the lawsuit is going to turn out. By hiring them, you’re just trying to buy the best bet. You’re trying to increase your odds of success, of winning, of beating a disease.

But it’s still all a gamble in the end.

So is courage. So are little acts of bravery. You don’t know that you’re going to succeed, and you don’t know that you’re not going to fall flat on your face. But you do know you have to try. You do know that the best chance of winning lies in effort, and that if you don’t try, you definitely lose.

I spoke on failure at a Christian conference this past weekend. In my talk, I told a story that, I think, sounds weird. I told a story about how my husband and I were struggling to buy groceries, so when he found a bag of canned goods at my dad’s car wash, he brought them home. It was strange, eating food that someone else had bought, and left behind, discarded. I mean, that’s what homeless people do—eat food that’s been discarded. But we were being stewards—good stewards—of the things we had been given. And in faith, we felt like the found canned goods were a gift, and it was our duty to practice stewardship with them.

But also in that story, was a kind-crazy, people-don’t-talk-about-this-stuff element of God being there, taking care of us. Stewarding us. Knowing we had tied our knot and were hanging on at the end of our rope, He was there, making sure we were ok.

I kinda think He liked that. I know I like it when someone comes to me for help. I like helping. And I kinda think God does, too. I think that maybe, He puts these crazy circumstances in our paths to send us running to Him. When a friend comes to me and asks for help, I normally want to stop and have coffee. I like the fellowship and engagement and connection that occurs. And God probably does, too. We come running for help and He says, “Sure! Let’s sit down and chat about that! Do you want cream or sugar?”

And, once again humbled, but still desirous of my right to ask for what I want, I request a Splenda and He makes it appear.

God laughs at me. “I offer you cream or sugar, and you still want a Splenda.” He shakes His head, and looks at me. “You get it, don’t you? You know I’ll work it out. You know you won’t get the Splenda every time…”

And here, I interrupt God. “But I’ll still choose to be completely delighted with cream and sugar, if I can’t have the Splenda. I’m just not going to to NOT ask.”

God chuckles and His eyes twinkle. He is delighted. He is delighted with my adventurous brain, and my newfangled ideas, and my whimsical notions. Sometimes I think He wants me to help other people have newfangled ideas and whimsical notions, because He knows this world has a pretty discouraging way of telling brave people that they can’t do something. That they’re not good enough. That He won’t have their back.

When I spoke at this conference this past weekend, my friend Ellen Parker taught out of Deuteronomy. She challenged us: what does it look like to live loved? She talked about the Israelites who wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, because they didn’t have the courage to trust. They chose fear over love.

Love chooses courage. Love chooses little acts of bravery.

So, what is brave for you? What would be the smallest brave thing you could do today? It might mean leaving your phone in the other room during dinner, or it might mean cooking dinner. It might be going to the gym, or it might be choosing to battle that disorder and eat the next bite on your plate. It might mean saying I love you, or it might mean saying I’m sorry. It might mean hitting the forgiveness reset button, one more time. It might mean letting go, it might mean hanging on. It might mean sending a text, or shutting down a thought, or setting a boundary.

Here’s the best formula I can give you for practicing courage: make a list of all the things you COULD do. None of them will be easy, or you already would have done them. Make a list of the things that feel heavy with fear or anxiety. Then, pick the tiniest, easiest thing from that list, and do that.

Whatever it is, it’s going to be hard. And that probably means it will be right.

]]>http://whitneyenglish.com/brave/feed/3Happenings ‘Round These Partshttp://whitneyenglish.com/happenings-round-parts/
http://whitneyenglish.com/happenings-round-parts/#commentsThu, 04 Sep 2014 17:49:52 +0000http://blog.whitneyenglish.com/?p=3168I know I’ve been quiet lately, but the silence on this blog stems from a pile of amazing people and projects I’ve been able to work on. I’d love to be better about documenting these adventures as they occur, but in the grind of daily minutia, the details don’t seem to matter. The tiny steps […]

]]>I know I’ve been quiet lately, but the silence on this blog stems from a pile of amazing people and projects I’ve been able to work on. I’d love to be better about documenting these adventures as they occur, but in the grind of daily minutia, the details don’t seem to matter. The tiny steps of progress every day are things that I’ve learned to celebrate, but I fear making a bigger deal out of them than they actually are, if I pay homage to them on the blog.

Maybe they are a big deal. Food for thought.

At any rate, here’s a quick summary of things I’ve been working on, in case you’re curious.

Go Inspire Love – Cathy Olson from Love Inspired contacted me a few months ago to ask if I wanted to collaborate on something. We brainstormed and defined an audience: creative entrepreneurs with a desire to share God’s love with the world. Then we came up with a concept, that, to our knowledge, has never been done before, or at least in the way we are doing it. The basic concept is what I like to call “nuggets and network”. It’s a community concept (we’re working on exactly what that will look like), and a place for us (and members) to share feedback and experiences on problems other entrepreneurs might be experiencing. We’re very transparent about the fact that it will evolve based on feedback from members. Registration opened yesterday for 50 founding member seats. Check out GoInspireLove.com if you’re interested!

Day Designer – The old duck analogy applies here. Calm on the surface, paddling like crazy underneath. We debuted 9 new cover designs on August 15th! This was the highlight of my month. I loved hearing the feedback from folks as they picked their favorite and placed their order. I can’t wait to get these in ya’lls hands, hence the paddling like crazy underneath! Here’s a pic of the cover designs we debuted:

Black Stripes – Aren’t they classic and timeless? Still a favorite among Day Designer users.

Aqua Shell – Elegant and refined, light and airy!

Navy Rugby – Preppy and bold with a twist! The “grosgrain ribbon” on the center adds an element of detail that charms my socks off!

Gold Stripes – You all love your gold! This one will also be a quick sell-out, so if you have your eye on it, set your clock for that September 15th shop opening (8:00 am CST). Retailers also have stock of both the Gold Stripe and the Black Stripe, so if you miss out on one of these, check the retailer list. Most of our retailers ship nationwide!

Grosgrain Stripe – You all like this one a lot more than I thought you would! It’s preppy, bright, fun and whimsical. What’s not to love?

Green Gingham – My friend Natalie Chang commented that she drooled on her phone when she saw this. Isn’t it darling? Several of my close personal friends have picked this as their favorite. I think they all live in the South, too.

Navy Gingham – Maybe this is the gingham for the girl in the northeast. She’s a preppy and nautical-loving gal, right? I think it make me want to take a trip to Nantucket.

Mint Rugby – When I asked you all what color you most wanted to see, you said mint! Here it is, with a dash of coral and blush. It’s the perfect color combination for the gal who wants to be on top of the latest trend!

Carrie Floral – This one might be my personal favorite. Named for Carrie Bradshaw, it’s bold and fiesty, feminine and crisp. It oozes confidence.

I might need to find a reason to carry two Day Designers!

Other projects that have my wheels turning:

I’m working on getting some new community features in place for Day Designer users. It’s kind of a big project, and trying to figure out all the details, how to roll it out, get all the kinks worked out–well, it takes time.

Over the past two years, I’ve received a few requests from folks who are non-planner people, but want access to the Define Your Core worksheets in that have come with our flagship Day Designer product. I’m excited to announce that these worksheets are now available as an e-workbook download! Check them out in my new Authenticate Etsy shop. I’m definitely rolling with these requests as they come, so if you are interested in purchasing other types of downloads, let me know!

On that note, a little bit of information about Authenticate, and my consulting business. I’ve dabbled in consulting over the past two years, but never really felt like I found my footing. I love helping folks, but trying to figure out HOW to help them, and put a process in place, has been a big challenge for me. In fact, if you’ve been a reader for any length of time, you may have noticed that I announced earlier this year that I wasn’t accepting any more graphic design or branding clients. After trying on those services for size, I discovered that what a client expects and wants isn’t really anything I’m able to offer right now, with kids and a whole lotta crazy happening at our house at any given moment. And if you can’t do it right, don’t do it at all.

That realization definitely left me floundering in the consulting department for a while, but I’m finding my footing. I’ll be rolling out a new service in the coming weeks, and I’m also opening a new class for Authenticate later on this fall. The first online class/course/mastermind has evolved over the course of this year, and I’m taking everything I’ve learned and everything I’ve taught am retooling that into an all-new Authenticate 2.0. To sign up to be notified when this opportunity opens, you can add your email address at AuthenticateExperience.com. And stay tuned for details!

I’m signing off now, because that’s a LOT of information in one “quick” blog post! Leave any questions you have in the comments, and I’ll try to answer them ASAP!

]]>http://whitneyenglish.com/happenings-round-parts/feed/3How Do You Forgive When You Don’t Think You Can?http://whitneyenglish.com/how-do-you-forgive-when-you-dont-think-you-can/
http://whitneyenglish.com/how-do-you-forgive-when-you-dont-think-you-can/#commentsFri, 18 Jul 2014 19:14:55 +0000http://blog.whitneyenglish.com/?p=3061Terri Roberts told her story from the platform at the small church where I grew up. She told the story of how her son had become a perpetrator. Perpetrator—the word for a man or woman who commits a horrific crime against another person. The crime her son had committed was shooting ten Amish school girls. […]

]]>Terri Roberts told her story from the platform at the small church where I grew up. She told the story of how her son had become a perpetrator. Perpetrator—the word for a man or woman who commits a horrific crime against another person. The crime her son had committed was shooting ten Amish school girls. Five had been killed. Four recovered, but one of the younger ones remains wheelchair bound, unable to speak, and has to be fed through a feeding tube.

Terri’s son, Charlie, turned the gun on himself in the final moments, leaving Terri, her husband, her other three sons, and Charlie’s wife and three small children, left to deal with the rippling effect of his tragic actions.

Terri told us how she and her husband wept, buckets and buckets of tears. I can only imagine how the tears would worsen, as feelings of shame and guilt crept in.

Days after the shooting, the Roberts family gathered for Charlie’s funeral. It was a small turnout, I’m sure, given the circumstances. It’s hard for us, as humans, to understand how anyone would mourn the life of someone cab able of committing such a travesty.

But, as many of you know, if anyone mourns, it’s a mama.

Here’s where the story starts to transcend my understanding.

It was the Amish mamas who mourned with Terri Roberts. Almost half the people in attendance at the funeral were Amish. As the news crews from all over the world gathered, shining a spotlight of shame and pointed fingers on this family, the Amish circled the family to shield them from the media.

The Amish—the people who had lost five daughters at the hand of Terri Robert’s son—the people who had all the right to show up at that funeral with pitchforks and picket signs—showed up and FORGAVE.

And not only did they forgive, they shielded. They protected. Talk about ACTIVE forgiveness. Passive forgiveness would have been sitting at home, saying, “we forgive”, and then silently, or maybe not-so-silently, muttering something about how the media would give them what they deserved, for whatever reason the media wants to cite that they deserve it.

Mercy—not getting what we do deserve—is ACTIVE FORGIVENESS.

I don’t know if I have that in me, friends. I want to have it in me. I want to be like the Amish were to Terri. But I’m flawed and I’m human, and yes those are excuses, but if someone did something to my family—I fear I’d be the one with the pitchfork and the picket sign. Loud and angry. And I’d want to defend my actions in the name of righteous anger.

It’s a tough subject, for sure. What would you do? Can you share any thoughts about how we could all more actively forgive?

]]>http://whitneyenglish.com/how-do-you-forgive-when-you-dont-think-you-can/feed/9How To Nurture Your Creativityhttp://whitneyenglish.com/how-to-nurture-your-creativity/
http://whitneyenglish.com/how-to-nurture-your-creativity/#commentsFri, 18 Jul 2014 16:01:26 +0000http://blog.whitneyenglish.com/?p=3057Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night, restless and unsettled? Have you ever felt called to action, but you’re just not sure in what direction? Have you ever seen injustice, and wished your pointer finger was a magic wand, because you know you’re supposed to do SOMETHING? I think we all […]

]]>Have you ever woken up in the middle of the night, restless and unsettled? Have you ever felt called to action, but you’re just not sure in what direction? Have you ever seen injustice, and wished your pointer finger was a magic wand, because you know you’re supposed to do SOMETHING?

I think we all feel this. It’s a feeling I struggle to define, though.

It’s part urge, part drive, part gut instinct and intuition, part love.

It’s a dissatisfaction with the way the present is.

It’s the knowledge that things can be different, and the confidence that different is better.

It’s not arrogant. It’s quiet.
It’s not foolish. It’s careful.
It’s not content, but for the best reasons.

The best way I can think to describe this emotion is simply this: you stumbled on to the seed of an idea. This emotion is creativity, in embryonic form.

The next time you can’t sleep, the next time you want to fight injustice, the next time you feel called, nurture the idea. Find some quiet, journal the feelings, mind-map the bunny trails your mind will take you.

Don’t try to organize, or structure it.
Don’t limit it.
Don’t shrug it off as insomnia, or say you can’t possibly be the one who is supposed to be doing something about it.